Abstract: The paper discusses a retrieval technique of complex permittivity of ore minerals in frequency ranges of 12--38 GHz and 77--145 GHz. The method is based on measuring frequency dependencies of transmissivity and reflectivity of plate-parallel mineral samples. In the 12--38 GHz range, the measurements were conducted using a panoramic standing wave ratio and attenuation meter. In the 77--145 GHz range, frequency dependencies of transmissivity and reflectivity were obtained using millimeter-band spectrometer with backward-wave oscillators. The real and imaginary parts of complex permittivity of a mineral were determined solving an equation system for frequency dependencies of transmissivity and reflectivity of an absorbing layer located between two dielectric media. In the course of the work, minerals that are primary ores in iron, zinc, copper and titanium mining were investigated: magnetite, hematite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, pyrite, and ilmenite.

Abstract: The universal quantum computer is a device capable of simulating any physical system and represents a major goal for the field of quantum information science. In the context of quantum information, `universal' refers to the ability to carry out arbitrary unitary transformations in the system's computational space. Combining arbitrary single-quantum-bit (qubit) gates with an entangling two-qubit gate provides a set of gates capable of achieving universal control of any number of qubits, provided that these gates can be carried out repeatedly and between arbitrary pairs of qubits. Although gate sets have been demonstrated in several technologies, they have so far been tailored towards specific tasks, forming a small subset of all unitary operators. Here we demonstrate a quantum processor that can be programmed with 15 classical inputs to realize arbitrary unitary transformations on two qubits, which are stored in trapped atomic ions. Using quantum state and process tomography, we characterize the fidelity of our implementation for 160 randomly chosen operations. This universal control is equivalent to simulating any pairwise interaction between spin-1/2 systems. A programmable multiqubit register could form a core component of a large-scale quantum processor, and the methods used here are suitable for such a device.

Abstract: We investigate the effect of varying both incoming optical wavelength and width of NbN nanowires on the superconducting single photon detectors (SSPD) detection efficiency. The SSPD are current biased close to critical value and temperature fixed at 4.2 K, far from transition. The experimental results are found to verify with a good accuracy predictions based on the “hot spot model,” whose size scales with the absorbed photon energy. With larger optical power inducing multiphoton detection regime, the same scaling law remains valid, up to the three-photon regime. We demonstrate the validity of applying a limited number of measurements and using such a simple model to reasonably predict any SSPD behavior among a collection of nanowire device widths at different photon wavelengths. These results set the basis for designing efficient single photon detectors operating in the infrared (2–5 μm range).
This work was supported by European projects FP6 STREP “SINPHONIA” (Contract No. NMP4-CT-2005-16433) and IP “QAP” (Contract No. 15848).